Pushmataha Hospital to host Blood Drive

January 5, 2012

Pushmataha Hospital is starting off the new year by saving lives through blood donation with Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). All healthy adults, 16 and older,* are encouraged to donate blood from Noon to 6 p.m., on Tuesday, January 17, at Antlers Library on 104 S.E. 2nd Street. Blood donors at the Pushmataha Hospital blood drive will receive an OBI ice scraper and free health screenings.

Additionally, if blood donors choose to forgo the donor appreciation item, funds designated for this item will be directed to our partnering organization, the American Heart Association. Oklahoma Blood Institute and the American Heart Association (AHA) share a common goal, to keep people healthy. According to Debbie Hite, Senior Executive Director of the Central Oklahoma American Heart Association, “The American Heart Association wants everyone to know their numbers and act on them. That’s the first step in changing cardiovascular health statistics.” Because blood donors receive a mini health check, including blood pressure and cholesterol results, every time they come to donate, those numbers are readily available to each donor.

“With the start of a new year and unanticipated weather, blood donations typically decline in the winter months,” said John Armitage, Oklahoma Blood Institute president and CEO. “But the need for blood is constant, and patients in our community count on volunteer donors to fulfill that need.”

Blood donations can be made every 56 days. Oklahoma Blood Institute is the ninth largest, non-profit blood center in America, providing every drop of blood needed by patients in 140 medical facilities across Oklahoma.

For more information or to make an appointment to donate, contact Oklahoma Blood Institute at 877-340-8777 or visit the site at www.obi.org.

* 16 year olds must weigh at least 125 and provide signed parental permission, 17 year olds must weigh at least 125 pounds, 18+ year olds must weigh at least 110 pounds.